


Let’s Rebuild This House

by tulomne



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Everyone loves Finn okay, Gen, M/M, Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers, you can take the other relationships as platonic or otherwise idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 18:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13277313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tulomne/pseuds/tulomne
Summary: There are a lot of concepts the First Order neglected to teach Finn. Love, and Home, being two of them.





	Let’s Rebuild This House

Finn spends the rest of the trip through hyperspace by Rose’s side. The medics had been able to get her stable, despite the low supplies on the freighter. Now her chest rises and falls evenly, her expression free of pain. But Finn can’t find it in himself to leave. He keeps going back to the last few moments she had before she slipped away. He can feel the kiss on his lips, hear her words in his head. What did it all mean?

He’s seen people kiss before. The action isn’t alien among the First Order. But it’s reserved for marriages and courtship, and certainly not something a young cadet should spend their time thinking about. Time spent on relationships is time spent away from bringing glory to the First Order. He knows now that that’s nothing more than propaganda, but it leaves him utterly without an idea of what to make of it.

He doesn’t get too much time to think about it before they’re jolting out of hyperspace, far away from the First Order’s clutches. The nine moons of Utapau blink into existence, the deep cavernous world of their mother planet residing below. They take the _Falcon_ down into its clutches, seeking shelter on an abandoned world.

Pau City had been left to rot with the fall of the Empire. Remnants of civilization span the breadth of the canyonlands that scatter among the grasslands on the surface of the planet. An assortment of run-down speeders here, an inactive power station there. It’s not a lot, but the remains of the resistance get to work at making it home. Rose is ushered off to a makeshift medbay, where she can get the best, and only, treatment available. Finn’s barred from visiting, the medical droids insisting, rather rudely, that they’re overworked as it is, and don’t have time to herd around another lost humanoid.

Finn’s swept up in the flurry of activity among the small group. There are calls made to outlying systems, to anyone who would be willing to aid the dying resistance. Slowly, there are answers to the call. In a short amount of time the resistance has doubled. They still haven’t broken a hundred members, but they take all they can get.

He spends the next few days in a haze. Everyone in the resistance, although weary, knows exactly where to go, what to do in order to make this new space their home. Finn jumps from one task to another, helping where he can. He moves supplies, tears down old structures, and fixes up abandoned buildings. He has to ask about his tasks at hand at least twice each time. Where the extra power couplings are. How they want the transparasteel stored. Everyone is grateful for the help, but he can’t hide the feeling that he’s still an outsider among this crew. He’s lost in another sea of unfamiliar faces that don’t have the time to spare to make acquaintances. He may be known as Finn, the resistance hero, but beyond that, he’s still a stranger.

\- - -

The nights are warm on Utapau. Finn finds a place to rest where he can see the sky. He still expects Star Destroyers to blink out of hyperspace at any moment, and he wants to stay aware, but it also gives him a sense of comfort. As it is, he’s spent most of his life in space, and the vast expanse of inky black gives him a strange feeling of home.

His sleep doesn’t last long. He’s shocked awake by an intense feeling of dread, spiking through his brain like a tendril of fire. He stumbles out of his bed, feeling his way through the dark hallways, following the phantom call. He isn’t sure what exactly he’s trying to find until he gets to her.

“Rey?”

She’s curled up in the corner of what looks like a storage room. He had tried looking for her, in the spare moments when he wasn’t working, but had no luck. She’s still asleep, however fitful it may seem. Every now and then she turns, pained expression on her face. He kneels down by her side, careful to approach her when she’s in this state. He rests his hand on her shoulder, trying to keep her from hurting herself with her motions, and she springs awake. In a moment, he’s on his back, Rey straddling him, her blaster pointed at his face. Her expression is wild, feral almost.

“Finn?” Recognition dawns on her eyes, and she slinks off of him, setting the blaster at her side. She slumps, closing her eyes and taking a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.” She apologizes. “I’m...not myself.” She sounds drained, almost unwhole. Like she had left a piece of herself back on that island.

“Hey, it’s alright.” he offers, reaching out to grab her hand gently. Their touch brings a bloom of warmth between the two, something he’s never been able to understand. A connection, the same thing that brought her to his side. She relaxes into his touch, smiling, and they shift so that he’s sitting behind her, his arms wrapped around hers. He rests his forehead on her shoulder, her head slotting comfortably into the crook of his neck. He rubs his thumbs back and forth on her arms, feeling the warmth return to her skin. This, he can do. This, he knows.

“ _Breathe_ ,” he soothes her. “Just breathe.” And for some reason that makes her grip him tighter. Another spike of flame burning into his brain. But this feeling is familiar. He knows Rey, understands her more than anyone else on the base. And he knows what he needs to do. He stays with her until that fire fades to embers, until the sky is pink with dawn.

“I should go,” Rey says once the sun has appeared in the sky. A kind way of saying that she needs to be alone again, that she can be alone again. They stand, brushing off the dust that had shifted onto their bodies during the night. “I’ve missed you.” Finn smiles.

“Same.” He replies, because he’s unsure exactly how to respond to that. Rey gets up on her toes, pressing a kiss to his forehead, before she turns to leave. He stays in her room for some time after, thinking about the gesture, what it means for Rey. What it meant for Rose.

\- - -

Finn is the first visitor through the door when Rose wakes up, much to the displeasure of the medical droids that have been banning his entry. He stumbles over the rusty pipes and haphazard machinery in the medbay towards her bed. Rose is staring out the window, watching the strange reptilian creatures that fly around the caverns with a silent awe. She’s wearing a medical gown, thick bandages of bacta covering her left side, one cupping her left jaw. He slows when he enters her room, trying not to startle her. She’s a little dazed, and he has to clear his throat to get her attention. She breaks into a smile.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Rose says softly. Finn laughs at the absurdity of the statement.

“You’re wondering if _I’m_ okay?” he replies. She moves to sit up, wincing a bit at the effort. The medical droid makes an annoyed sound, surely upset that this intruder is making their patient strain herself, but doesn’t inquire further at Finn’s glare.

“I mean-” She clarifies. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had done something dumb like that and it _hadn’t_ worked.” She smiles again. “I’m glad you made it out in one piece.”

“You too,” Finn itches the back of his head. He feels like they’re just talking in circles. He doesn’t know how to bring up the kiss, how to ask about it without making it weird, but he knows he can’t beat around the bush forever. “So on Crait…” He makes an empty gesture with his hands, feeling like a droid who doesn’t understand human interaction.

“Oh,” She huffs out a laugh, looking away for a moment. “Nice going Rose,” she says to herself. “You _actually_ did that.” She meets his eyes again, smiling. “I wasn't sure if that was just some weird dream.”

“But you remember, right?” Finn confirms. “You kissed me?” Rose closes her eyes, sighing but still grinning.

“Yeah,” She admits. “Yeah I did.”

“Wh-” Finn tries to find a way to ask what he wants to ask. “Why?” Rose laughs, an infectious sound that makes Finn smile despite the knots in his gut.

“I wanted to…” She starts, seeming unsure how to explain. “To show you I care. That _someone_ cares. That we aren’t going to win this thing by throwing ourselves away like that. You’re not some anonymous stormtrooper anymore. You’ve got a name, Finn, and a place in the resistance.” She makes a face, as if she recognizes the overly-sentimental nature of her words. “Don’t think too hard on it. You just gotta show the people that you love them. It’ll keep ‘em around.” The tightness in Finn’s chest loosens. He smiles.

“Glad to have you back,” Finn says. Rose grins even wider than before.

“Me too.”

\- - -

The days pass on Utapau, and the resistance grows more and more. Sometimes it’s a single starfighter, sometimes a crew of forty or more show up in a day. Bit by bit, they begin to recover. Food is replenished, ships are rebuilt. It’s a slow pace, but they hold themselves together by the skin of their teeth. And hope, lots of hope. Rose’s healing takes time, since resources are still thin and everyone needs healing. Eventually she’s able to get out of the medbay, as long as she doesn’t push herself too hard. She works alongside Finn, patching up the _Falcon_ , constructing lodging, and clearing debris. The creatures that call Utapau home have begun to investigate the base, and the two joke about taking them out for a ride.

Sometimes, Rose talks about Paige. Sometimes she’s smiling, sometimes she’s not. Finn asks about her sister when he should, and listens when he shouldn’t. He keeps her company either way, trying to remind her that he’s alive, standing by her side because of her.

When he can, he visits Rey. She’s usually deep down in the canyons, near the water, practicing with her staff or mediating, when she’s not doing her part with the resistance, of course. They trade stories, slowly learning about their travels that had transpired while they were away. Rey tells him about Ahch-to, and Luke. Finn tells her about Canto Bight, Rose, and Phasma. Finn knows she’s leaving some things out. About Kylo, about Luke. But he understands. And sometimes they just sit in silence, hands intertwined, feeling that easy rhythm ebb and flow between each other.

“I talked to Poe the other day,” Rey mentions at one point. Finn turns to face her. He hadn’t been able to find him. It’s like the pilot has slinked away into the crowd the moment they landed, and he hasn’t seen a glimpse of him since. “He really likes you, I think.”

“I haven’t seen him around,” Finn comments, feeling confused that Poe had been talking about him, but also avoiding him.

“I don’t know if he wants to be found right now.” Rey replies. “When I talked to him, he seemed...sad.” That pulls at Finn’s heart uncomfortably.

“Do you know where he is?” Finn asks. Rey smirks before motioning with her head at a cavern above.

Finn smiles in thanks before trudging up the path to the cave. He walks for a while. His calves begin to burn at the constant uphill along the canyon walls. The clamors of the base above him echo along the rock, along with the odd calls of the creatures that roost in the caves. That’s one thing he feels like he’ll never get used to. The rest of the galaxy is so _loud_ compared to the First Order. Everything felt muted inside that white helmet. Out here, among the resistance, on colorful planets with exotic wildlife and even more exotic company, it’s vibrant, and alive.

He reaches the cavern after a few hours. The hallways are lit with glow rods, and boxes of supplies are haphazardly stacked up against the walls. He can see tracks of footprints in and out of the cave, along with the markings of a familiar droid. It isn’t long before the orange orb rolls out to greet him, beeping happily, making circles around Finn’s feet before retreating back into the cave. He hears a muffled voice before a clang, followed by curses.

Finn turns the corner and walks into what looks like a small hangar bay. Doors on the far side of the room seem to lead further into the canyonside, and a high ceiling reveals more levels above, possibly with spaces for ships to dock. The lights center in on a small starfighter, an A-wing, and an old one from the looks of it. The outer plating has been almost entirely removed, lying in piles around the ship, and a small mountain of tools litter the floor nearby. Poe’s standing near the nose of the ship, hydrospanner in hand, wiping the sweat from his brow. He’s wearing what might have been a white tank top, before it was smudged in every type of ship grease and fuel imaginable. The cargo pants aren’t doing much better. He’s sweaty, and grease covers the length of his forearms. Finn feels an uncomfortable twist in his gut.

“Hey, buddy.” Poe smiles, but he looks tired. He sets the tool down on the ship before wiping his hands on his already stained pants.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” Finn asks. He steps underneath the hot spotlights that shine down from above. Poe smirks, the gesture not entirely reaching his eyes.

“I thought I’d fix it up.” He explains, motioning to the abandoned starfighter. “We could always use more ships.”

“Is this where you’ve been all this time?” Finn keeps his attention on the pilot. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere…” At this, Poe looks hurt. His shoulders slump just the slightest, and the knot in Finn’s stomach tightens. Poe opens his mouth to say something when a spark explodes from the A-wing’s engine.

“Kriff-” Poe mutters under his breath, rushing over to the engine to fan out the flames. He looks around, trying to find something in the mess of tools that litter the ground next to the starfighter. Finn feels a gentle push next to his leg, and turns to see BB-8. The droid has a handheld extinguisher in their outstretched arm. Finn grabs it and heads over to Poe’s side, extinguishing the flames in one quick blast.

“Need a hand?” Finn chides, holding the extinguisher out to the pilot. Poe takes a deep breath, a smile, real this time, spreading across his face. He puts his hand over Finn’s on the extinguisher.

“Sure.”

\- - -

They get to work on the A-wing. Poe talks the entire time, going on about the difference in Clone Wars-era A-wings versus Galactic Civil War-era. He talks about handling on the different ships (because of course, he’s flown both of them) and even a couple stories about learning to fly, growing up on Yavin IV. His voice echoes throughout the hangar, making it seem almost like he’s lecturing to a audience, not just talking to Finn. But sometimes, when Finn looks up from his position, he catches Poe’s eyes on him. The first time, Poe looks away, but afterwards, he just smiles. It puts a heat in Finn’s gut and makes the knots in his stomach twist.

Finn calls it his “secret project”. Rey and Rose only know that it has to do with Poe. Rey rolls her eyes and goes along with the charade, and Rose asks Finn questions about Poe. The look she gives him when he’s describing Poe sometimes makes him more anxious than Rey’s deliberate jabs.

They spend the next few days working on the ship, sometimes late into the night. Finn knows he’s wearing a bit thin, working with Poe as well as trying to assist the rest of the resistance, but it’s worth it. He enjoys his time with Poe, likes getting to spend time with him and only him. He had introduced Rey to Rose shortly after Rose had woken up in the medbay, but something keeps him from bringing them into this space. Neither of the two ask to, either.

“Today’s the last of the repulsorlifts.” Poe comments one day, dragging the heavy metal box containing their remaining supplies to the ship. The A-wing is almost complete. The copilot space had been modified to fit a BB-series astromech, rather than the standard R2 units used during the Clone Wars. That, and a few other upgrades made it a ship that could go toe to toe with a First Order fighter any day.

“How do you plan on telling General Organa about this?” Finn asks, kneeling to pluck one of the repulsorlifts from the box to inspect. Poe ducks under one of the wings to join Finn, reaching into the box to grab another.

“Figure I’ll fly it right up to her quarters.” Poe winks. “I think she’ll appreciate it.” He pauses for a moment, as if to reconsider his thoughts. “Or maybe I’ll just tell her.” Poe moves away from Finn, turning to begin installing the first repulsorlift.

“Is something up?” Finn asks, setting the device back into the box it came before moving Poe’s way. Poe keeps his eyes on the ship, holding the repulsorlift in place while BB-8 welds it in.

“I…” Poe starts. “Gotta start looking before I leap.” The droid turns their head to Poe, cooing a sad sounding beep. “I got a lotta people killed doing things I didn’t need to do.” Finn’s face scrunches.

“If you’re talking about Canto Bight,” Finn replies. “That was on me. On Rose and I. If we had gotten someone other than that _snake_ of a code-breaker-”

“It’s _not_ just Canto Bight.” Poe interrupts, pushing himself to his feet. “It’s bombing the Dreadnaught, it’s all the other half-baked plans that I don’t think through.” He ducks around Finn to grab another repulsorlift. He sounds angry, like, truly angry at himself. It’s something Finn hadn’t heard from him before. Finn follows him, squatting down when Poe kneels to pick one out of the box. He puts his hand on Poe’s, stopping him for a moment.

“One of those half-baked plans got me out of the First Order.” Finn reminds him. Poe meets his eyes. He’s hurt, again. Finn hates how he’s managed to be the cause of that look on Poe’s face twice already. “I’m sorry just-” He pauses. Poe sets the repulsorlift back into the box and takes a seat under the ship’s wing. Finn moves to join him. “Why are you hiding away like this? You’re usually in the middle of all of it.” Poe stares down the cave entrance, not meeting Finn’s insistent gaze.

“I got a lot of people hurt ignoring orders and doing what I thought was best.” Poe explains. His voice is drained, the familiar joy Finn’s so used to hearing in him gone. “I’m trying to learn my place. Keep to my post.” Finn is dumbfounded. Poe learn _his_ place? He’s been a part of this world since the day he was born. How could he feel out of place among the resistance?

“Poe, you…” Finn starts, unsure of how to proceed. “You _can’t_ just hide away forever. You don’t realize what you mean to the resistance.” Poe smirks, looking at Finn out of the corner of his eye.

“I think sometimes I think I mean too much to the resistance.” He states. “It gets me in trouble.” Finn sighs, annoyed.

“Sure,” Finn admits. “Maybe we need to be more careful now that there’s just a few of us. But we need you more than ever. You _get_ people. You inspire them. You’re our best pilot, and you’re more than just a man in an X-wing.” He hears the echo of Rose’s words in his voice. Poe smiles, carding a hand through his hair.

“You’re really something, y’know?” Poe grins, keeping his eyes seemingly anywhere but on Finn. When their eyes finally lock, the atmosphere shifts. Finn thinks about Rey, kissing him on the forehead after a night spent keeping her nightmares at bay. He thinks about Rose, telling him to show the people he loves that he loves them. He leans forward to press his lips to Poe’s.

This kiss is different. Poe reacts quickly, returning the kiss, a small breathy noise escaping his throat before. He pulls on Finn’s lower lip, making heat pool in Finn’s stomach. Just as quickly as it had started, Poe pulls back.

“I’m sorry, I-” Poe says as soon as their lips are parted. Finn looks at him quizzically. He had been the one to kiss Poe, not the other way around. Poe must have seen the expression on Finn’s face, because he takes a breath before clearing his throat. “It’s just that...I don’t think you know what that really means, buddy. And I don’t want you to do something because you think it means something it doesn’t.” Finn frowns.

“I know what it means,” He replies. “You kiss people when you’re thanking them, or when you want to show you appreciate them, or just if you _want_ to. I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do. I want to kiss you, Poe.” Poe looks dumbstruck. A blush begins to creep up his cheeks, and he licks his lips, worried expression still on his face. He clears his throat.

“So, like, _again_ , or-”

This time Poe meets Finn’s kiss with enthusiasm. His hands cup Finn’s face, thumbs brushing his cheekbones delicately. Finn rests his hand on the back of Poe’s neck, tangling his fingers in Poe’s hair. When they break the kiss, they laugh, foreheads pressed together, watching the shadows of their A-wing play off of each other’s faces. They spend the rest of the day finishing the ship, distracting each other with kisses and holding each other close. As the moons appear and the stars come out they make their way back up to the base. Finn, surrounded by his friends and loved ones, spends the night feeling more at home than ever.

And maybe this is it. Maybe this is his place in the rebellion. Maybe this is _everyone’s_ place in the rebellion. Finn watches friends holding hands, lovers kissing, laugher and smiles. Little gestures that give this barren world just that much more warmth. Rose was right. This is how they’ll win. Saving those you love.


End file.
